Make Believe
by ThanatosConnery
Summary: The ongoing adventures of the Teen Titans in the Pegasus Galaxy! Blended Stargate and DCAU/Titans universes.
1. To Meet Your Maker

Author's Notes: Hi there. This is a crossover with Stargate Atlantis after Season 5 of the Teen Titans and right at the beginning of Atlantis. Though I loved the show in its entirety I thought it would be more fun to write the Teen Titans, Major Sheppard and company discovering the Pegasus Galaxy together without much assistance from the super Asgard beam ships. I've wanted to do this for a really long time but I've never really had the nerve until now. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1

To Meet Your Maker

Several million years ago, a race called the Ancients came from a distant galaxy to escape a merciless threat. A magnificently advanced race, they brought with them great knowledge of science and philosophy. Here in the Milky Way, they thrived for many millennia before a great plague all but wiped them out. Desperate to escape oblivion, the few not stricken by it created a massive giant city ship called Atlantis in the Arctic on Earth. With a tearful goodbye to the infected, they soon left their capital behind them to start anew in a distant galaxy.

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Ancient Outpost

Present Day Antarctica

Batman yawned quietly as he worked his way through a maze of icy hallways in a secluded area of an Ancient outpost, his flashlight being his only guide in the dark. Though he was plenty tired, having been up for days, his constant endurance training allowed him to ignore the fatigue. Still, he decided he would wrap this single-minded quest for answers in a few hours to grab some shuteye.

After a few more minutes of walking, he stumbled upon a small room. In it were a number of Ancient computer terminals covered in frost. The Dark Knight shined his flashlight about the room, counting at least five in all. Lining the walls was a series of texts. Though Batman was still learning the fundamentals of the Ancient alphabet, he still knew what Stargate symbols looked like. Eight were upon the wall.

He activated his radio. "Dr. Jackson, this is Batman. I've found what looks like an address."

"A Stargate address?" The Archeologist replied.

"That's correct. I'm going to find my way back to the chair room. Meet me there."

High above the Antarctic, Superman flew towards the coordinates that Batman had given him, his cape flapping in the intense wind. All the way, he puzzled as to why his friend had called him to this desolate wasteland. He spotted a small black figure in the distance standing in the snow and took closer look with his supervision. Batman stood there, wearing a heavy winter coat and holding binoculars. Superman quickly landed near him and shook his hand.

"Clark. I'm glad you could make it." Batman said.

"I came as quickly as I could, but I can't stay for long. I have to get back to Metropolis soon."

Batman shook his head and said, "This could take a bit. There's a lot that needs to be discussed."

"Go ahead." Superman said firmly, knowing full well that if Batman felt something needed to be discussed in person it deserved his full attention.

"Do you remember the alien ships you fought against last year in orbit?" Batman asked.

Superman nodded, remembering that battle. Two dozen alien ships of unknown origin took had taken positions around Earth. The president and his joint-chiefs asked him to meet them at the White House. There, a high ranking General called Hammond briefed him about a number of secret military operations designed to fight alien threats. He wouldn't mention anything specific about them, only that their assets were being deployed to fight the threat in orbit before the public could find out. The Texan gentleman wanted Superman to work with the military and asked him to fly as an escort to a spacecraft called the Prometheus. Being as cocky as he was, Superman declined, thinking he could take on the threat himself. He barely managed to scrape the shields of one of their ships before he was blown out of the sky and incapacitated.

"Well… that wasn't the first time we encountered them." Batman stated.

Superman threw Batman a look of suspicion and puzzlement. "We?"

"Step over here, Clark. I'll explain everything." Batman said while motioning for him to come. Superman did so, and soon a series of rings shot up from beneath the snow and surrounded them. A second later, the rings retracted with a flash of light and the duo were nowhere to be seen.

A few moments later, Superman and Batman were walking through a narrow underground corridor together, occasionally brushing shoulders with a military officer or two.

"I can't believe you've held out on me this long, Batman." Superman said. "The Military using interplanetary wormholes for travel? Stargates on millions of planets?"

"I'm surprised you've never encountered one, before." Batman remarked.

Superman puzzled for second. "It's pretty much a maybe twelve foot ring with symbols marking its sides, right?"

"That's right."

"I saw something like that on Apokolips." His tone turned spiteful. "Darkseid must have used the technology to construct his boom tube generators."

Batman nodded, "Maybe, but Stargates can be used to travel much greater distances and are a lot safer. Darkseid must not have been able to fully grasp the technology."

"Right. The one thing I don't understand is why haven't the military revealed this to the world? Nobody panicked when I revealed what I was, the same thing with Starfire. Let's not forget about Apokolips' two invasions, either."

"It's a secret for a number of reasons: The first and foremost one is that the aliens the Military have been fighting have a lot more ground and numbers then Darkseid. They could wipe us off the face of the Earth and there isn't a thing New Eden could do to stop them. The other is that many of the aliens I've been talking about have a history with us."

"A history?"

Batman nodded. "We believe the aliens who built this place may have been responsible for seeding life in the galaxy."

"That… complicates things." Superman admitted.

"Truth be told, Darkseid's attacks did cause a stir. It showed our military the threat of invasion was a very real one, and it was also the trump card General West used to persuade the Pentagon to authorize the first trip through the Stargate.

Their conversation was cut short when they came upon de fecto meeting room of sorts where a number of military officers and outpost personnel had gathered, the centerpiece being a geeky looking scientist type standing in front of a white board. On it were the same symbols Batman had found earlier. Everyone in it turned to gaze upon the odd costumed pair.

"Is that-?"

"No way."

"Superman!"

"I can't believe they finally gave him clearance!"

Superman smiled humbly, slightly enjoying the hero worship. "I'm sorry, were we interrupting something?"

Batman rolled his eyes.

"N-No," The presenter stammered. "Please, have a seat."

"He can have mine." A man in a General's uniform offered before standing up. "I need a bathroom break."

"But Jack, we were just getting to the point of this whol-"

Jack held up a finger, "Duty calls, Daniel."

"Right." Daniel sighed as Jack exited the room, pushing up his glasses. "Yes, where were we? Oh-uh The Lost City-yes. We've gotten closer and closer to finding it but it turns out we've been looking in the wrong place all along."

Dr. Jackson pointed at six Stargate symbols drawn upon his white board, each numbered 1, 2, 3…

"We originally thought we would have a Stargate address. Six symbols representing a location in space where the Ancients left to. Now, thanks to Batman's discovery we have been able to determine that there are two more symbols to this."

"Two more?" A man spoke. Superman recognized him as Canadian due to the patch on his uniform's shoulder.

Daniel nodded and drew in a baseless triangle with a small dot atop it as symbol number 7.

"That's the symbol for Earth, the point of origin." An old woman with curly black hair stated.

The archeologist smiled and said, "Not exactly."

"You can't be right, then." The Canadian scoffed.

Daniel didn't bother to respond, instead he reached over and drew in a final symbol between six and seven.

"Eight symbols. It's not in this galaxy." Batman spoke.

Daniel nodded with a smile. "I see you've read a few mission reports."

"All of them."

Daniel blinked, stunned that the man had read so much in a little under a month.

"Right" He said before continuing. "Yes, as you can see, Atlantis is further away than we've ever imagined. However, we can still go there."

"The Zed PM." The Canadian announced, still slightly in awe of this whole situation. "It might just have enough power to create a stable wormhole."

General Jack O'Neil stood next to the ring platform outside the outpost wearing a heavy goose feather coat and holding a radio. A heavy wind was blowing, causing him to shiver ever so often. He wasn't necessarily one to complain about the weather, but he wouldn't ever have thought to come outside if he didn't need to be far out of Superman's amplified hearing range.

He spoke into his radio, "Look, I don't really care what Hardcastle thinks about Superman. That helicopter carrying the kryptonite needs to amscray"

"He has authorization from Richard Woolsey." A voice spoke back.

"Woolsey eh? Well that's dandy. I'll know exactly which paranoid bureaucrat to tell to shove-"

A new, older voice interrupted him before he had a chance to finish, "Jack, this is Hardcastle."

"Just the man I wanted to speak to." O'Neil said sarcastically.

He was famous for that kind of thing.

"Look, I don't really give a damn what you think either. I'll contact the president himself if it means not risking the security of that outpost."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Look, if the guy really wanted to he could have become a 'security threat' a long time ago and you know that!"

"He could be a sleeper or a very good actor." Hardcastle argued.

"Oh yeah, and now he has us right where he wants us, doesn't he? Look, Hammond was there the day Superman was called into the oval office to take on the Gou'ald. He seemed generally surprised about them and ended up in heaven while trying to save our asses.

"I'm not worried about him working for the Gou'ald."

Jack thought about what he meant for a second before shaking his head incredulity.

"Weren't any suspicions of him working with Darkseid on his own will dismissed?" He asked.

"Officially, yes." Hardcastle said. "Look, I know what you want to do here."

Jack shook his head as if to say, 'no, no you don't' and irascibly spat: "Oh, you've got it all figured out now don't-"

"You want to send him to Atlantis." Hardcastle accused "I swear to god Jack, that is a bad idea. Let's think for a moment; what if he is still working with that magnificent bastard? You could be handing him the biggest technological platter he's ever set eyes on."

Jack sighed, rolling his own eyes. "Well you know me. I live to serve."

"This isn't the time for jokes, Jack."

"Look, I don't even want to send him to Atlantis. I want him in on our operations in the Milky Way. Batman just wanted to introduce him to the top brass of the operation and they just happened to be here."

A moment of pause followed. A gust of wind rippled O'Neil's coat.

"What if I could get you someone like him to help out in Atlantis?"

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Titans Tower

Two Hours Earlier

Raven awoke from a deep slumber, jolting up in bed. She panted heavily and took a second to look at her alarm clock; 2 AM. Though she could not remember what nightmare she was having, a heavy sense of apprehension filled her. Meditation seemed like a good option, but something told her that she should get up instead. Acting on instinct, unusual for her, she swung her legs over the side of her bed, snatched her cloak, and made her way to the door of her room.

After she exited, she took a path down the darkened corridor that connected every Titan's room to another. She first the room of Batman's former apprentice, Robin. She couldn't guess if he was asleep or awake. Some nights he would stay up late obsessing over small things such as why Slade returned to speak to Beast Boy about Terra in the security room. Other nights he could be sound asleep after an all day session of training.

The Boy Wonder was the epitome of arbitrary and unpredictable activity and sometimes disposition. He did what he believed needed to be done without hesitation, never reaching for the golden apple that was self-indulgence. It was a shame that someone who worked so hard to protect the tree could never have a bite of its fruit.

Next up came Beast Boy. She knew he had to sleeping. It was like him to stay up til 3 AM playing on his ridiculous X-Box games before falling into a deep sleep. Lately though, he had been going to bed earlier and earlier so he could sleep as long as possible and the empath could easily tell why. She wished she could talk with him about some of the things that had happened, but she was not sure if he would accept help from anyone; even her. She knew she masked his pain with humor, but that was only one of his many shields.

Cyborg was probably awake. He spent all night working on various projects while locked in his room. Feeling uncharacteristically social, she decided to knock on his door so to invite him to play a game of chess or two. She waited for a moment, but no response came. He must have been down in the garage or something, she pondered. Oh well.

Cyborg was a man who seemed to love to distract himself by any means necessary. Be it by being constantly goofing around with Beast Boy or working on his T-Car; always looking for reprieve from the memories of being horribly wronged in the past.

She passed Starfire's room, a walking bundle of joy whos constant energy probably wore the alien girl out quickly. She flooded the tower with more warmth then anybody deserved to bask in. The Dark Girl could never describe her gratitude for Starfire's presence, not that she would ever be able to voice it to her anyway. It was unfortunate, because a piece of your sanity is something you never want to run away.

She soon reached the end of the corridor where the only exits were located: the stairs and elevator. Perpendicular to their entrances was a large window which gave an impressive view of her city's bay. Raven pressed the up button and took a moment to gaze outside. An eerie calm had overcome the moonlit Jump City. No cars were on the road and no boats were in the bay. To top it off, everything seemed slightly… off. A few skyscrapers were not in the right place and the bay bridge seemed slightly lower than usual. At that moment, she realized she was having a lucid dream.

How boring.

Raven groaned and tried to wake herself with a pinch. When it did not seem to work, she sighed in aggravation, not longing for a full night of dreams. All she wanted the peace of unconsciousness. Out of options, she guessed it was best to follow what her subconscious wanted her to do.

The elevator dinged and she quickly shuffled in. The door snapped shut behind her and she turned to press the button to take her to the living room. As she did so, she realized she was no longer alone. Two men in their twenties stood facing each other on both sides of her. One had slick black hair, held by gel while the other had shorter brown. They both wore rather strange uniforms, jackets of some sort with a patch on each left shoulder. The man with brown hair had one that resembled a Canadian flag, while the other had an American one. The other patch read 'Atlantis'.

Without paying her any mind, the one with the Canadian flag spoke, "What are you talking about? Spiderman 3 was definitely not underrated! Sam Raimi should be ashamed of himself!"

"Hey, I thought the fights were cool. Sandman wasn't that bad, either."

"Yeah," Snorted the Canadian. "If you like a villain with an origin story that makes no sense whatsoever! Oh, and speaking of that, why didn't his daughter's locket dissolve in the sand mixer too, huh?"

At this point, Raven was growing incredibly agitated. She was annoyed by not only the figure's conversation but by her own mind for conjuring them. She tried her best to will them both away but came to no avail.

"It's a movie, Rodney." The American said with a sigh.

Raven immediately recognized he was the more laid back of the two. She felt reminded of someone by him.

"One I payed 16 bucks to see! I deserve better!"

"Yeah, ticket prices are getting up there." The American admitted before smiling slightly, "Remember when it was 5 bucks for a matinee? Good times."

Robin. He reminded her of a calmer Robin. He was down to Earth, quick to quell an argument, in control of his emotions, self-assured, and logical. He was a born leader. Perhaps he was a representation of the Boy Wonder in some way.

"Jeez, the last five dollar movie I saw for that low was Ghost Busters 2, now THAT is an underrated movie!"

"I thought Bill Murray was pretty funny in it."

Rodney grinned, "Bill Murray is a god of comedy. Of course he'd be funny in it."

As soon as his sentence finished, the elevator dinged. It had reached the Titan's living room.

"Right, well, I need to see Dr. Weir and Colonel Sumner." The black haired man said. "Good luck."

"Who needs luck?" Rodney scoffed.

The elevator door opened, revealing a scene that caused Raven's eyes to bulge. The living room was fully lit and thriving with activity. Nearly a hundred different people crowded it; all dressed the same way as the two men who rode in the elevator with her. Raven soon noted that they were a multinational group, as she had counted twenty different flag patches. Each of them carried a heavily packed backpack while some stood next to or were wheeling large travelling cases. She saw a few more men enter from an alternate elevator, carrying more black supply boxes.

The centerpiece of the room was a large circular grey ring that stood parallel to the living room's windows. It was over twelve feet in diameter with sides nearly a half a foot in width. Nine chevrons lined it, emitting a yellow glow. An inner track complimented the outer band, about ¾ of a foot in width. On that, she counted a number of strange symbols in perfect order separated by bulging grey lines.

"_I really need to lay off the late night chocolate." _Raven thought.

The two men exited the elevator, still not paying her any heed, and went their separate ways. A man near the circle shouted an order, and soon the inner track of it began to spin for a second or so before a symbol aligned with the chevron on the top of it. It then locked into place with a crunch. The process repeated seven more times before every chevron but the ninth was locked. After that, a mechanical groan sounded before a brilliant blue ball blue flood of what looked like water kawooshed from the center of the ring and surged forward for about half-second before immediately retracting to form a thin sheet of shimmering water that filled the ring.

Following its 'activation', the people in the room began to move towards it in a slow progression, each person carrying as many supplies as possible. The first to enter were the six soldier types nearest to the gate, pointing a series of weapons forward. The men stepped into the water, rippling it, before disappearing behind it. A moment of pause followed that soon came to the end when an announcement came from the Titan's intercom that it was safe for the rest to precede.

One by one and sometimes two by two, people trudged through it. Soon, the room was emptying. Raven was simply transfixed upon it. Some strange urge was making her want to follow them through. For the first time since the dream began, the dark girl was frightened: she could not explain this will by any means. As the last men entered, she more than desired to wake up.

Soon, the room was devoid all but one hooded figure: one wearing an Azarathian cloak. The figure slowly made its way to the shimmering water before turning towards Raven to gesture for her to come.

"Mother?" Raven asked. "What is this about?"

The figure merely smiled and continued beckoning, "Do not be afraid, child."

"What?" Raven asked, desperate to find some answers.

Unfortunately, she found she was no longer in her dream. Her eyes flew open revealing her sunlit room. She silently cursed the sun for awakening her before quickly getting up and dashing out her room.

A moment later, Robin heard a soft knock on his door. He opened it to reveal a slightly unnerved looking Raven.

"Oh, hey Raven." He said before rubbing his eyes. "I just got up. Want to grab breakfast?"

Raven paused for a moment, gazing at the boy wonder. "Yeah… do you think we could we talk in private first?"

Robin blinked behind the mask.

In the Titan's living room, a smiling Starfire sat on the sofa while her favorite morning show, 'cooking with lard.' It soon came to a commercial break, giving her an opportunity to get up and grab a drink. A moment later, a news broadcast came on.

"This just in," Announced a reporter. "Central City's hero, the Flash, has volunteered to hand his services to the military for an undisclosed period of time."

This got Starfire's attention. She turned back towards the television with a, "Huh?"

The view shifted to a press conference where a large number of interviewers were shoving microphones into the speedster's face.

"Yeah, they want me in on some big top secret mission." He said with a grin, "I just hope that whatever they're up against is ready for the fastest man alive!"


	2. General Jack O'Neil

Jump City's nightclub scene was always bustling and hot. One of the most popular was _Blink, _a teenager only club, most likely because of the frequent visits of Jump City's most famous residents. The five Titans sat at a rounded table there together, enjoying a massive plate of hot wings, illuminated only by a few dim ceiling lights and the distant dance floor's strobe light.

"So, do you think your mother's spirit was trying to tell you something?" Beast Boy asked after annihilating the meat of a wing. "Dude, talk about something out of Poltergeist."

"I'm not sure what to think." Raven admitted. "It just felt… so real."

"Maybe it was just a hella vivid dream," Cyborg pointed out. "I think you're just thinking about it too much."

"On my planet, vivid dreams often mean an outbreak of Plortha could have stricken you." Starfire piped in.

"I don't think this has anything to do with Plortha, Starfire," Raven groaned. "Look, I'm sorry I even brought this up. Can we just forget about it?"

"Yeah, I'm about ready to hit the dance floor." Beast Boy said, smiling over towards a group of schoolgirls and winking. They didn't seem to notice him.

"Alright, just ask if you ever want to talk about it." The Boy Wonder said before looking over towards his alien girlfriend, "Starfire, would you want to-"

"Of course, Robin!" She beamed, taking his hand and giggling all the way to the dance floor. Raven looked over towards them with a slightly envious look before grabbing another hot wing.

A pause

"Well, I don't know about you guys but I'm about to totally dance with those hot chicks over there!" Beast Boy announced, looking back towards the same girls who were periodically looking over towards him and giggling. He got up, grinning, and slowly made his way over, trying his best to look as smooth as possible.

"You get em, Casanova." Cyborg said before turning back towards his gothic teammate. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about this more? I know we've all been through a lot lately…"

"I just don't think that it has anything to do with past trauma." She said. "The people in the dream… they just seemed so real, so unique and full of life. This name keeps coming up in my mind too, General Jack O'Neil. Also, some place called Cheyenne Mountain. I'm positive these urges are related to my dream."

"NORAD?" The machine man puzzled, knowing full well what was in Cheyenne Mountain. "That's pretty damned random."

"Yeah..." Raven said. "I keep getting this urge to contact O'Neil to ask him some pretty strange questions."

"Like what?" Cyborg asked.

"Something about an expedition to Atlantis through something called a Stargate..."

"Atlantis? You mean like the lost city?"

Raven shrugged.

A beat.

"This all sounds pretty crazy, doesn't it?"

Cyborg laughed, "No, crazy is taking BB up on his offer to cook breakfast. I still can't get the smell of Tofu out of the kitchen."

"Yeah..."

Cyborg pondered for a moment before saying: "Look, I think I know a way to get this out of your mind, girl."

"How?"

"Let's call and ask if there is a General Jack O'Neil. If it turns out he doesn't exist at all then you'll prove to yourself it's just some crazy dream." Cyborg explained.

The dark girl gave him an incredulous look, "I don't think that is necessary."

"Hey, if you don't I will." Cyborg smiled.

"Fine..."

They both made their way out of the hopping nightclub. Cyborg then used his built in cell-phone to make a few calls to various operators before finally reaching the United States Military.

"U.S. Military, how may I help you?" A female operator spoke.

"Oh, uh-hi. My name is Victor Stone. I'm one of the Teen Titans." He spoke.

"Yeah, and I'm Batman." The operator remarked with deadpan sarcasm.

"Yo, this isn't a joke." Cyborg stated. "Go ahead and look up my phone number. You guys should have it registered to my name and information."

A few moments later and the operator returned, "Alright. You check out, sorry about that we've been getting a lot of bull calls lately."

"Yeah, no problem." Cyborg said. "Listen, I need you to me a favor. Would it be possible to look up information on a General Jack O'Neil?"

"Branch?" The operator asked.

He covered the speaker with his hand and turned towards Raven, "Any idea what branch?"

Raven shrugged. "Try Airforce."

"Airforce." Cyborg said after moving his hand.

"Alright, just give me one second."

A few moments later.

"Jack O'Neil is a three star brigadier general based in Colorado Springs. That's all I'm allowed to disclose"

Raven was disappointed. Maybe it was just a coincidence that there was a Jack O'Neil in the military.

"Thank you." The metallic Titan said to the operator.

"Wait, can I ask you something first?"

"Sure."

"Is Raven as bitchy in person as in the-"

"Yeah, Goodbye." Cyborg said curtly.

He then activated his built in computer, bringing up google maps. "Let's see where NORAD is located."He typed it in, and sure enough, Cheyenne Mountain was located near the town of Colorado Springs.

He looked towards Raven, his eyes wide. "Damn, maybe that dream _was_ trying to tell you something."

"It could just be a coincidence." Raven noted, trying to be rational. "Maybe I heard that name somewhere and it just-"

"I don't think so." Cyborg interrupted. "He's not listed as a member of military on the Airforce's main website. We got lucky we found this guy."

The dark girl sighed, "Well, now what? Are we just going to call him up and start asking questions related to national security?"

The metal Titan thought for a moment before announcing: "I think I know someone else who could hold the answers."

At Jump City prison, the plump, sad embodiment of everything nerdy that was Control Freak paced about his cell. His most recent attempt to hack into government computers had landed him ten years in the slammer in addition his remote control related crimes. The door to his isolation room opened and a security guard escorting Cyborg and Raven walked in.

"Well, if it isn't Tinman and my favorite Edgar Allen Poe fanatic." Control Freak said smugly. "Come to try a Jack Bauer interrogation this time, or are we going with a slower Aldo Raine like one?"

Cyborg shook his head, "No, that's not what we're here for."

He turned to the guard, "Can you give us a few minutes?"

"Ohhh, asking the guard to leave? Please, don't hurt me!" Control Freak mocked as the security officer exited.

"We're not here to interrogate you." Raven spoke. "We just need some information that isn't related to any of your operations."

Control Freak grinned, folding his arms. "And what will that get me?"

"Points in the Karma department," Cyborg stated, "And maybe some time off your sentence."

"Pffft.. I kind of like it here. The food isn't as replicator bad as they say it is."

Raven sighed, "How about a DVD box set of all seven seasons of Star Trek The Next Generation,"

Cyborg gazed over to her, suspiciously.

"I looked it up online." She said innocently.

Control Freak chuckled. "Now we're in business. What can I do for you my costumed friends?"

"You're a bit of a conspiracy buff, Control Freak, and we know you've had access to government files before, so can you tell me if you know anything about some sort of … circular teleportation device hidden in Cheyenne Mountain?"

Control Freak laughed yet again, "Oh, this is just too good. The Teen Titans are asking me to spill the secrets of their own government."

"So you do know something?" Raven questioned.

Control Freak smiled. "As a matter of fact, yes: after I did a little digging I found that there is a whole network of batshit insane individuals on the internet speculating about the existence of something called the Stargate."

"So there isn't any proof."

"There is any evidence of its existence: photos and eyewitness accounts of something that was picked out of the sands at Giza in the 30's. However, I never found any evidence in any government database"

"Great. We are back where we started." The machine man sighed.

"Kind of a shame it probably isn't real. The TV show based around it was pretty cool."

"What TV show?" Raven asked.

Control Freak threw her a look of shock, "You've never heard of Wormhole X-Treme?"


	3. Pulling a Markus

Author's Note: I decided to redo this chapter after deciding it was horribly written. The whole thing is revised and there is new stuff at the bottom.

A few days after Control Freak's interrogation, Starfire, Raven, and Cyborg sat in the living room of Titans tower conversing about the subject of the Stargate.

"I do not recollect reading any pieces of recorded history of such a device" Starfire stated. "However, I do recall a children's tale my caretaker told me: I believe I was only five kaylaks then. It was of a portal that existed upon our world for as long as anyone could remember. Eventually, a great evil found its way through in the form of monstrous creatures. They were only driven back after a great battle after which portal was buried"

Raven and Cyborg turned towards each other, each thinking the same thing.

"That sounds familiar." Cyborg noted.

Robin entered with a disgruntled look at his face.

"What's up, man?" Cyborg asked.

"Sixth sighting this month of Slade's henchmen." Robin groaned while walking over to the kitchen area to grab a cup of coffee. "I think he's set up a new lair somewhere in the city. It'd explain the increased activity."

Cyborg sighed, "Awwww man, please tell me you're going to lay off obsessing over him this time around."

"I'm trying, Cyborg. It's just-" He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but quickly shut it. "How are things progressing with this investigation of yours?"

"They aren't progressing at all." Raven said. "We've researched wormhole extreme. The only lead we could get out of it was that there was a man named Colonel Jack O'Neil who helped with the show as a military advisor. As we suspected, it's likely that it was just a cover for the real thing."

"We don't really know where to go from there, however."

"That sucks." Robin said with a frown. "One thing I don't get though. What did you plan on doing if it was all true?"

"Well we were planning on asking the secretary at NORAD nicely if she knew anything about it." Cyborg said with a smirk. "Maybe bring her a box of chocolates as a bribe."

Robin chuckled before Raven spoke up, "We never really had a plan: we wanted to confirm our suspicions before even wasting time formulating one. I'm almost certain it's real, but we have no concrete evidence."

"Are you still convinced it wasn't just some wild dream?" Robin asked. "I know that you haven't seen your mother for a long time…"

"I'm almost positive. It was simply too vivid. The only time I experienced a vision like it was when my _father_ attempted to help me understand my 'destiny'." She explained, spitting out the word father as if it were something foul. "My mother seemed to think there was something important waiting for me on the other side. I almost wonder if 'Atlantis_' _is where my people fled to after the disaster."

Robin wouldn't have even pondered taking action if anyone but Raven were telling him about this. It all seemed too surreal. However, if there was even a chance that the dark girl could be reunited with her family, it was worth any undertaking.

"Well… I guess it's time for plan B then." Robin sighed. _"Barbara's not going to be happy doing this…"_

Two minutes later, the five Titans were standing around the communications computer. An orange haired, masked, and caped figure stood in the monitor.

"You want me to hack into the Pentagon?" Batgirl practically shouted. "Do you have any idea how much trouble that could get both of us into with Batman? Not to mention the FBI? This channel is secure, right?"

"Yes, Oracle, and I know this is risky. However, as I told you this could end up leading us to an important discovery relating to Raven's people."

Batgirl pondered his request for a second, shutting her eyes while thinking. "Uggggh… Fine. But you owe me for this big time."

"Terms?" Robin asked, dreading what she may want.

She tapped her chin for a moment before answering with a grin, "I want you to actually sit down with me and Dick at dinner the next time you're at Gotham. I want it to be at a nice restaurant, too; no offense to Alfred's cooking. I can't wait to hear how you've been doing! Be sure to bring this girlfriend you've been-"

Robin held up a hand and put on an embarrassed smile, "Deal, Oracle!"

Starfire clapped her hands gleefully. "That would be most glorious!"

"I want it to be for more then thirty minutes, too." Batgirl added.

Robin struggled to maintain his smile, fighting his workaholic personality with all his might, before solemnly saying, "Deal."

"Alright. Give me about two days; this isn't going to be easy." The Oracle announced before signing off.

"Who's Alfred?" Beast Boy asked.

Robin turned to him, "One of the men who raised me after I was adopted."

"Woah, dude. How come this is the first time I've heard of this?"

"You know about the contract Beast Boy; lay off the topic."

The two days flew by without anything in particular happening in the city. It was a great reprieve for Robin's boredom when the female bat troper appeared on the communication computer's monitor. Within minutes the rest of the Titans had gathered about it.

"I've uh… completed my sweep the Pentagon's computers." She said, her tone very serious. "Well, it's true. There is device called the Stargate being used by the military at Cheyenne Mountain. Most of the information I found at first didn't tell much, but when I started digging deeper…"

A beat.

"Well, to be blunt, this could be the greatest conspiracy undertaken by any government in History."

Robin raised his eyebrows, "What exactly did you find?"

"Gosh, I'm not sure where to start." She said, her mind rattled by all the information she had received. "Well.. nine years ago the device called the Stargate was taken out of storage by the United States government. They could not figure out how to get it to work..."

She continued, "Anyway, they couldn't get it to work until a man named Daniel Jackson came along. Him and and a man named Jack O'Neil led a team of special operations soldiers to a planet called Abydos located a few lightyears away. That's a long story in and of itself but that's a lot more… I'm going to send you everything I've found."

"Awwww man, that's awesome!" Beast Boy shouted gleefully "It's like every geek's dream come true!"

"Or nightmare" Batgirl interjected. "We don't exactly live in a very friendly neighborhood."

"Oracle, what about Atlantis?" Raven butted in.

The Oracle stood silent for a second before finally speaking.

"Raven. I'm sorry but I don't think any of your people are there." Batgirl said sympathetically.

Raven merely nodded.

A few hours later, she and Robin sat in the living room, the former reading a novel and the latter in deep contemplation. After nearly five minutes of silence The Boy Wonder finally spoke.

"Raven I-"

"There's nothing to be sorry about." She groaned. "It was just a theory. Nothing more."

"Still... you did predict the existence of the Stargate." Robin said, putting a fist into his hand. "It must have been for a reason. Do you still have that urge to go through it?"

"I do." She said softly, not bothering to look up from her book.

"Alright... alright then." He said, before making a final decision. "Let's go talk with the people at NORAD then."

She raised an eyebrow and glanced at him. "What?"

**One week later**

**NORAD**

** Colorado Springs**

It was a normal morning for General Jack O'Neil. He had eaten his fruit loops and planned on a whole afternoon of reviewing mission reports and neglecting paperwork. Of course, a typical day at the SGC always had the chance of being mutilated.

He was surprised, but not stunned, when a pitch-black portal opened up in the middle of his office to expel two Teen Ttians. It was almost humorous to him that the oddest thing he found about the whole situation was the costumes they wore.

"Well hello there," He said with a sarcastic tone, not even bothering to stand up. "Ever hear of knocking?"

Robin through him an apologetic smile before saying, "General, we're sorry for surprising you like. I call myself Robin and this is Raven."

The General didn't seem too surprised. "Oh right. I think I've seen you on the news a few times. What do I owe the pleasure?"

"We need to discuss our entry into the Atlantis Expedition."

"The what?"

"The expedition that is about to head through the Stargate." Raven said. "Don't play dumb."

"Yeah..." He said with a slight smile, "Usually I'd say something like 'you're nuts' right about now, but I'm starting to doubt even my own sanity after seeing your mode of transportation."

"We know everything, Jack O'Neil" Raven stated. "The Stargate, the two attacks on Earth…"

"Just hear us out, General."

"Oh, I'm all ears." He said, his eyes rolling.

"You were involved with a plot to destroy two Goa'uld motherships in 1999. You used an Ancient chair in Antartica to destroy a fleet sent by the System Lord Anubis. You're good buddies with an Asgard named Thor who helped upgrade a spaceship called the Prometheus."

O'Neil nodded, impressed. "Alright, now that's just genre savvy. How the Hell did you find out about all this?"

"We hacked into the Pentagon"

"You _what?_" O'Neil practically shouted the last word. "Do you know how top-freaking secret all this stuff is or better yet, how long you can be put into prison for pulling a stunt like that? You'd think Batman would have taught you better."

"We knew the risks, General." Robin grumbled. "We deemed it important enough to find the truth before risking coming here."

"Oh to lower the risk, huh?"

"I am not sure if you have read up on us but you should know that I'm somewhat of a prophet. A few weeks ago I had a… vision of being beckoned through the Stargate to a place called Atlantis."

"Oh that's good. Any other clichés you want to send my way?"

"Please believe us, General." Robin interjected.

O'Neil through him an incredulous look. "How do you expect me to trust you on this? For all I know you could have spun this bogus story to gain access to the Stargate after you found out about it on . I have to admit though, it is … well actually it isn't really that original actually, no."

"If you know about us then you'd know we always have the best interests of people in mind. Why would we have any sort of selfish intention for coming here, especially with our reputation at stake?"

O'Neil sighed. "Alright, let's assume I do believe you. Why would you expect me to add you to a very important mission to another galaxy when you don't have any tangible evidence to support that you being there is vital. Did you think there'd be a sign-up sheet?"

"I've learned to trust Raven's word on these things." Robin said. "Plus, we could help the expedition. Every member of my team has very special gifts."

"_This was true"_, O'Neil thought.

He had read up on the Titans long before this meeting and found himself impressed with their public service, sheer determination to defy all odds, and combat abilities. They were young, yes, but they could just be a great asset to the operation. It would also give him an excuse to keep the Flash in the Milky Way to use against the resident snakes.

"Well… alright, alright. I'll need more time to think this over before I put in the good word for you at the Pentagon. Are you sure that you want to give up the whole hero business for this, though?"

Robin nodded. "Yes. We know that the trip will only be one way. We have people who can fill in for us back home while we're away. This wouldn't be the first time."

"Well that's good to hear." He said. "Before you go, I need you to go through a medical test and sign some papers: security clearance and all that jazz. Also, I'd like you to meet Dr. Weir."

"The leader of the expedition?"

O'Neil nodded. "You got it. You need to get the rest of your team here too. Do that tele thingy or whatever."

Raven teleported out of the room for a second before coming back with the other three Titans.

"I've gotta get me one of those." O'Neil remarked, looking at Raven.

Raven shot him a confused glance. "One of what?"

"Whatever you're using to do that portal trick." He said.

Raven continued to stare at him, "It's not a device. It's something I can just- do."

"Kinky"


	4. Meeting

A few days later, The Titans, Dr. Weir, Jack, a man named Colonel Marshal Sumner a man named and Major John Sheppard all sat in the SGC's briefing room overlooking the Stargate. They had discussed the regulations of the SGC as well as gave them a rundown of recent activities. Now, a briefing for the Atlantis mission had begun. Robin couldn't help but notice Sumner was glancing at the Titans and Major Sheppard uneasily occasionally.

"The expedition's civilian staff is composed of 143 support staff and scientists from over 16 different nationalities." Dr. Weir stated.

"45 members of various United States military branches will compliment them." Sumner added.

"I can't believe so many countries are involved with this." Cyborg said.

Jack smiled, "We like to share."

"Are we going to even need so many military with these guys on board?" Sheppard questioned, glancing over towards the Titans.

Robin and Raven immediately took a liking to the man for his trust and humility. Sumner, however, shot him a wicked glance.

"With all due respect to them, I'd prefer that we don't change any numbers." He stated.

"I agree with Colonel Sumner." General O'Neil said, trying to keep any accusations of mistrust subdued, "I'm sure they wouldn't hate the backup."

"Alright, we won't be changing anything because of our new additions." Dr. Weir announced before glancing at Robin, "However, we still need to discuss how much authority the members of your team are to be given."

"How many of you have had experience leading in a military situation?" Sumner asked the Titans.

Robin spoke up, trying his best to sound military-like, "I've lead my team in multiple engagements against a mad-man called Slade and his army of autonomous combat droids. However, we usually won by using brute force tactics. I don't believe any of us have the experience for any sort of position of military authority."

Sheppard returned Robin's admiration. The young teenager seemed to be able to swallow his own pride. This was unusual for someone of his age.

"But Robin, you are most capable of making strategic decisions." Starfire spoke.

Robin shook his head, "Commanding large scale assault forces or even platoons against multiple enemy targets is not my style."

"Your record still is impressive." Sheppard spoke in his defense. "You seem to be able to pick out an individual enemy's weakness very quickly."

"Awww, shucks" Robin joked. Sheppard chuckled.

"I've read over the Titans own reports pretty well, too." Jack O'Neil announced.

"You… read a report?" Weir asked, slightly stunned.

"I get bored on Saturdays. Anyway, I'm giving Robin the command authority equivalent to Sergeant Major. Cyborg will be a corporal and the rest privates."

Sumner squirmed in his seat at this.

"Any objections?" O'Neil asked, eyeing him.

He remained silent.

"Alright, any more suggestions, questions, anecdotes, lemon chicken recipes…"

A beat.

"I think that's everything than. The next meeting will be at 1800."

Over the next week, the members of the expedition members went to tie up any loose ends and say their goodbyes. Dr. Weir visited her boyfriend Simon. Him knowing full well that she may never return. Sheppard said farewell to a few friends and then took to his apartment, not having any family he wished to visit. The Titans went to take care of a few things in their city before calling up the Titans East to take watch. They didn't seem to care about this, having grown used to watching over Jump City during the Brotherhood incident.

A day before everyone was due back O'Neil visited the liquor store in Colorado Springs. He procured an expensive bottle of French wine and brought it to the counter.

"Got a gift tag I could throw on this?" He asked.


	5. All In

A day before the departure, the SGC became a fury of activity. Multitudes of expedition members overwhelmed the guest rooms and soon started to have to share them in groups of five or more. Supply carriers flooded the halls to deliver a multitude of crates to the storage rooms near the Stargate.

These contained everything anyone could ever need for scientific activities, not to mention long-term survival; manuals, flashlights, ammunition, laptops, toiletries, portable showers, radios, and more, not mention the food. Robin counted at least a hundred crates of it when he went to drop off a box of birdarangs, all carrying one type of food each: dried eggs, dried sausages, dried fruit, bacon (refrigerated crates), fish sticks, and even beer. It was more then was ever stored at Titans tower, a place that they would all miss. He sat his crate down amongst a few others carrying miscellaneous supplies before facing the entrance, now occupied by Starfire.

"Robin." His girlfriend said in a saddened tone, catching the Boy Wonder's attention. By her voice alone he could tell she wasn't in the best of moods. He quickly deduced why, too.

"Oh, hey Star, What's up?" He asked.

She paused for a moment, biting her lip before replying, "I… I wanted to talk to you about this decision we're making."

Robin sighed; he was right about what was bothering her. "What about it?" He asked with trepidation.

"We are… leaving our home, friend Robin. All we have ever cared for. I have grown to love my new planet and the people on it: I do not wish to say goodbye for as you Terrans say, a wild goose chase."

He stared into her emerald green eyes, at a loss of what to say next. He himself was going to miss his home too, and he knew the rest felt the same way. Unfortunately, he never expected any of his team to outright argue with him about the decision. Beast Boy was the next to join their group, looking equally as depressed as his alien mate did.

"I didn't want to say anything Robin but … yeah dude. I'm with Starfire."

"Why didn't you guys bring this up before?" He asked in a slightly disappointed tone.

Beast Boy shrugged, "I guess it just didn't hit us til now. Ya know, the whole 'we might not get home' thing."

Robin shook his head, his anger starting to rise. He could understand why they didn't want to come, but backing out now after they were already so firmly committed and how intent Raven was to go?

"What does Cyborg think? Does he want to stay home too?" He asked angrily.

"Cyborg didn't say anything!" The green teen said, raising his voice. He then lowered his eyebrows and asked, "Why are you so pissed about this, anyway?"

"You know how important this is to Raven! She could be on the verge of finding some of her people!" The Boy Wonder spat before adding, "Do you really want to be that selfish and stay behind after everything that happened two years ago."

That question hit the two teens hard. Robin was right; they were letting their own emotions get the better of them. Raven was part of their family, and families stick together. They didn't say another word after that: they only bowed their heads in defeat and walked away. The further they moved away, the calmer Robin became. He felt slightly sick for yelling at his girlfriend and good friend like that, but decided to shrug off an apology for now. As he walked out into the Hall, a voice caught his attention.

"You don't have to go, you know." John Sheppard said as the Boy Wonder turned to meet him. "We know all about your friend's situation. If we ever found and anything-"

Robin interrupted him before he finished his sentence, trying to sound as polite as possible, "Thank you, but I'm going to see this through."

Sheppard could tell the young hero had already made his mind, so he didn't bother to argue more. "Alright, then." He said before walking down the hall in the opposite direction.

Lieutenant Ford sat at a cafeteria table in the SGC's mess eating a bowl of soup. It was 10pm, so there wasn't very many people around. It didn't matter though, for despite being a social person, the young soldier didn't really desire anyone to converse with at the moment anyway. He was just about to finish up when something peculiar caught his eye; one of the newcoming superheroes was literally floating into the room. Ford had seen her on the news a few times, and had seen a lot of crazy things going through the Stargate, but seeing her fly like that on her own accord was just a sight to behold.

She flew over to the food line and grabbed a few things. Ford Didn't know whether it was because he just seemed like a friendly guy or if she simply needed someone to talk to, but she decided to approach his table for a seat.

"Hello, I am Starfire. I must inquire, would it be acceptable if I were to sit with you?" She asked in a slightly gloomy tone, still a few inches off the ground.

Ford put on an awkward smile and said, "Sure."

She took a seat across from him and took a bite out of a pizza.

"I must say," She said, shoveling the rest in with an alarming speed, "Earth military food as not as poor of quality as is portrayed on Terran television."

"Wait… you're not from Earth?" Ford asked, gawking at the sight of her power-eating.

Starfire shook her head, "I am not. I am from a planet called Tamaran."

"Tamaran? So… can all your people do that funky hand thing?"

She lowered her eyebrows n confusion. "They do not possess any musical qualities." She ignited one for show.

Ford gazed at it in surprise for a second before saying, "Oh, I meant funky as an expression. It means uh… unusual."

"Oh, well yes many of us cannot gain these abilities. It is a rare trait."

"It must have been surprising when you discovered them." He mused.

Starfire nodded, gulped down a glass of milk, and said, "When my powers first manifested themselves, I accidently destroyed the outer wall of what you would call an elementary school."

"Ouch. Did you get a detention or anything?"

"A what?" She inquired.

"Time out after school for doing something wrong."

"Oh yes," She said while nodding. "I was confined to the palace for more than a week while they discussed whether or not I would be re-admitted."

He raised his eyebrows, "Palace?"

"I am a princess; first in line for the thrown." She explained.

The Lieutenant suddenly became rather nervous, "Oh, wow. Uh… "

Starfire giggled, "You have never meant royalty before, have you?"

"Well… I meant the president one time. Just… the first time meeting the princess of an entire planet."

She smiled, "I assure you that I am not nor will ever be an _active_ princess. Even if I were, you not offending me in any way."

Ford returned an embaressed look, "Thanks! N-Not that I'm nervous talking to you or anything though…"

"Oh, of course." Starfire said, giggling. "What is your position amongst these Terrans?"

"Oh. I lead a team that travels through the Stargate."

They continued with their conversation for nearly an hour. By the end of it, they had become quick friends. Ford was one of the few Earthlings she had meant that was so easy to talk to and open. She assumed that it was most likely because, as she found out, he was quite familiar with dealing with vastly different cultures. At quarter past 11, Ford excused himself to head off to bed and wished her the best of luck the following day. Though Starfire was still anxious about heading to this new Galaxy, she took comfort in the fact that at least she was amongst people who may be more open to her.

When she reached her own room, she was reluctant to enter after hearing silent weeping that was undiscernibly from Beast Boy. Feeling he may want someone to talk to, she summoned her bravery, entered and found him lying in the bottom bunk on the left side holding a photo in hand. It was a picture of Terra and Beastboy at the same carnival that their relationship ended at.

"This is going to be hard, Star." He said solemnly, slowly looking over to her. "I know my chances are slim but… but this will end them completely."

"I'm sorry, friend." She said, her frown slowly finding its way back from earlier. She found her way to his side and set a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I need to do this, though." He admitted through his sniffles. "Raven needs our help with all of this. I just have that feeling."

"I do as well."

Robin made his way to the elevator to take him up to his room. The doors opened to reveal a very familiar figure, his mentor, Batman.

"Nice of you to say hi, Bruce." Robin mocked as he stepped into the elevator with him.

"You and I both know that personal matters take a backseat here." The Dark Knight coldly stated.

"You've been here a week, though! You couldn't even bother to stop by my room?" Robin asked in a heated tone.

"I had business to take care of with General O'Neil."

The Boy Wonder sighed, "Same old Bruce, it's always about 'the mission' with you."

"Let's not get into this Robin. We both have enough of our minds."

"Right…" He said incredulously, folding his arms. They didn't speak another word during the two minute trip.

The next day was the decisive moment everyone most had been waiting for. The gate room now held almost every expedition member, each with the largest backpack they could find. Some stood before wheeled carts, ready to push them, while some stronger men carried them in arm. Many of them seemed very eager, some nervous.

The Titans however, were never a group who were that enthusiastic about exploration. They could honestly care less about the 'wonders of the Ancients.' All of them held blank expressions on their faces. They were herded near the Stargate with a group of soldiers who were carrying a multitude of firearms., Dr. Weir soon entered the room and made her way to the metal ramp leading to Earth's only Stargate.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Ford asked Starfire.

"I am… quite nervous." She admitted.

Ford chuckled, "Don't be. It's a breeze going through that thing."

Robin, meanwhile, noted a conversation happening between Sheppard and Sumner. The Colonel seemed to disdain Sheppard for something about not following orders.

"Everything alright between you two?" Robin asked Sheppard as he walked away from the Colonel.

Sheppard made a mock frown, "I don't think he likes me that much."

Robin chuckled, placing a playful sympathetic hand on Sheppard's shoulder, "There, there."

At that moment, Dr. Weir spoke, "Could I have everyone's attention please?"

Everyone complied almost immediately.

She cleared her throat, and then said, "Alright, here we go. We are about to try to make a connection. We have been unable to predict exactly how much power this is gonna take and we may only get the one chance at this, so if we are able to achieve a stable wormhole, we're not gonna risk shutting the Gate down. We'll send in the M.A.L.P robot probe, check for viability and go. Everything in one shot. Now, every one of you volunteered for this mission and you represent over a dozen countries. You are the world's best and brightest; and in light of the adventure we are about to embark on, you are also the bravest. I hope we all return one day having discovered a whole new realm for humanity to explore, but as all of you know, we may never be able to return home. I'd like to offer you all one last chance to withdraw your participation."

The Titans looked at each other, knowing that this it. None spoke up.

"Alright, begin the dialing sequence." Sumner ordered.

In the control room, Daniel Jackson, Batman, and Colonel O'Neil sat and watched as the gate began spinning.

Daniel turned to Jack and said, "Jack, you know there's still time for me to-"

"No."

"I could j-j-ust grab my-"

"No"

"Kit."

"God speed." Batman said.

The gate finally completed the dialing process and a brilliant plume of unstable energy emitted from the center before retracting to form a thin sheet of water in the ring of the Stargate. A wormhole was formed between the Pegasus and Milky Way galaxies.

"We have a stable wormhole!" A sergeant announced.

"Send in the MALP." Colonel Sumner ordered.

The little robot wheeled up the ramp and through the wormhole. A few oohs and awwws were heard as it disappeared, but the Titans really were not that impressed as seeing a man turn into a dinosaur and back again was the usual for them. A signal was soon sent back to the control room from the MALP, giving them the go-ahead.

"Stable atmospheric conditions!" The lead scientist, a Canadian known as Rodney announced. "We're going for it!"

Sumner signaled his soldiers to follow him and they made their way through first, making tiny ripples in the water that was the event horizon of the wormhole. Dr. Weir followed them soon after, Robin at her side and rest of the Titans tagging behind them.

"Are you ready?" She asked the Boy Wonder, a hint of a smile on her face.

"I just hope I don't lose my lunch." He hoped before proceeding through.

"Booya." Cyborg said coolly before walking through with his green companion who was holding his breath. Starfire and Raven floated in right behind them, much to the astonishment of the expedition members behind them.

Robin and Dr. Weir emerged on the other side to a large open area near the Gate. A set of stairs about two yards in front of the gate led to an upper level that surrounded them save for a large window overlooking the Stargate. This window provided most of the light to the room, a brilliant blue sun shining through it. Balconies hung off this level, providing a good view of the gate room.

Outside, Robin could see a quite expansive Terrain. They appeared to be at the top of a very large skyscraper overlooking a number of smaller skyscrapers that were atop a large metal base. Six other bases shaped like standing up cobras protruded from the main, one larger than the main and one smaller. He imagined this would make the city look like a ten kilometer long snowflake. This whole thing sat upon a large plateau surrounded by a think alien forest with bizarre looking purple and bluish trees and plants. He couldn't make them out too well, he could still see that an odd feature about them was a that they had no leaves.. Instead, they grew what he could vaguely make out as foot long pear shaped pods all over their more traditional structure. Over the edge of the plateau, the Boy Wonder could see nothing but more of these forests.

He felt dumbfounded. He had read a few mission reports from the SGC and had heard a few stories from Starfire about her home planet, but he could never imagine what a truly alien world would look like in person. For the first time in a long while, he felt intrigued by the unknown.

The soldiers that had come before them were busy scouting. As they walked up the stairs to the upper level, floor lights began to come on underneath their boots.

"The lights are coming on by themselves." Sheppard remarked through the radio.

"Pffft… we have those too." Beast Boy joked. Robin was glad that whatever depression his friend was feeling was starting to wane.

Dr. Weir and the Titans stepped off to the side so they would not block the multitude of people coming through.

"Dayum." Cyborg said, shaking his head with a slight smile before turning to Dr. Weir, "You say they _flew_ this city here?"

She smiled. "That's right."

"I gotta take a look at what they used to power this place. Or better yet, what flew it!"

Robin chuckled, "Take it easy, man."

"You don't understand. This place is like a dream come true for me."

"Yes, yes. Whatever you do just don't touch anything without permission." Dr. McKay groaned as he walked over to them.

"Who says I was going to touch anything?" Cyborg asked him in an offended tone.

"You sounded like you wanted to." McKay pointed out.

"Whatever, dawg." Cyborg said, doing a slow burn. McKay shut his mouth after that.

The rest of the Titans and Dr. Weir sweat dropped.

"Someone's hasn't slept much." Lieutenant Ford noted, walking over from the gate. Cyborg threw him a quick smile. "I'm Aiden, by the way; nice to meet the rest of you." He said in a kind tone.

"Good to meet you too." Robin said formally.

"What's up man?" Beast Boy asked excitedly.

Aiden grinned and held out his hand for a fist pump, "Not too much." Beast Boy meant his hand.

"I am glad you like my friends!" Starfire shouted with glee.

Unfortunately, Introductions were interrupted by the squawk of the Lieutenant's radio.

"Find any aliens?" A marine asked.

"Negative. All clear." Another responded.

"Place is like a freakin' ghost town."

"Cut the chatter, people." Colonel Sumner ordered. The marines shut up.

"Well, I'll be taking a look at the upper level, then." Rodney stated before walking away.

Ford followed him with his eyes for a second before announcing, "Yeah, I need to get going too. Sumner wants all us soldiers to scout the area around the gate."

"Allow me to assist my new friend!" Starfire beamed before picking up a very surprised Ford by his armpits and carrying him towards the balcony above.

"Woah, woah!" He shouted. "This is… this is actually pretty cool."

Starfire giggled before setting him down and returning to her comrades. They conversed with Dr. Weir a little longer before Rodney McKay's voice came through the radio.

"Well, I have good and bad news." He repoted. "The good news is that the city is structurally sounds and still has a small amount of power. The bad news is that that power is reserve only. We won't be getting back home. If I'm reading this correctly, and I have no reason to doubt myself, then the ZPMs that normally power this city are missing."

"I'll get back to you on that, Rodney." Weir spoke into her radio. "The final members of the expedition have arrived."

She changed channels, "Weir calling Stargate Atlantis. We send you greetings from Atlantis! Go ahead and cut the power."

Before the gate shut off, a single bottle of very expensive wine rolled through the Stargate. Attached to the top was a tag that read:

Bon Voyage,

- General Jack O'Neil


	6. Watcher of Mind and Cut Strings

Hi, sorry for the long delay between chapters. I was experiencing major writer's block. However, I now have a basic plot in mind and a great many ideas.

Robin gazed through the floor-to-ceiling window on the opposite side of the Stargate from which they came out of. The city was truly an amazing sight, and the boy wonder had seen a lot of those in his lifetime. It reminded Robin of stories of the fabled Atlantis on Earth, supposedly home to Aquaman. They were both grand in their majesty and abilities. Earth's Atlantis supposedly had a shield that allowed it to withstand the titanic pressures of the deep sea, while this one was able to achieve starflight. Robin began wondered if Earth's Atlantis, if it was real, was influenced in architecture and name by this one in any way. Dr. Jackson had mentioned something about stories of this Atlantis spreading about the early Earth population. With that, he realized just how little they knew about this city in the first place. Because the power was out in most of the city except for the central tower, Robin feared he wouldn't have much time to explore and learn more about it before dusk.

The sun was nearly almost down from the sky, illuminating the chrome city with a vibrant and captivating orange glow. Robin thought this to be curious. It was nearly at a two o'clock position when they had first arrived. He guessed the rotation of the planet must have been quicker than Earth's. This led to an interesting question: was this planet smaller or larger than Earth, and therefore was the gravity lower or higher? Robin did a quick hop to find out. He flew a bit higher than on Earth, not too much but not too little. He guessed the gravity must have been somewhere between the Earth and the moon, though it was probably closer towards the Earth's.

Starfire moseyed on over to him, standing by his side. The rest of his team soon followed along with Dr. Weir, now clutching her new bottle of wine. "It's almost worth not being able to go home to see something like that." Beast Boy said. His voice was barely audible when he added, "Almost."

The radio Robin had previously received from Dr. Weir squawked, "This is Colonel Sumner, we've found a few rooms suitable for cargo storage. We are going to mark them with spray paint. Have everyone drop his or her things off before proceeding with exploration. Non-essentials are to be taken to a room down the corridor leading from the control room. Essentials are to be taken to a room down the corridor leading from the lower level. "

"Understood." Weir replied.

With that, the Titans let the sun fall as they began gathering up their supplies. They had barely begun to lift a few of their personal belongings when a pair of scientists requested their help moving some official equipment. Naturally, the Titans fought over whose duty it would be to assist them. Robin made the final call, announcing that he and Starfire would be the ones to assist them. The alien girl seemed pretty happy with that decision.

With the matter settled, they all went their separate ways. Cyborg went to help Dr. McKay wire up a Naquadah generator on Dr. Weir's request and Robin and Starfire took a path between two terraces on the lower level that led them out of the gateroom. Beast Boy and Raven gathered up a few of their personal belongings that were gathered around the gate and began walking a small distance before climbing a flight of stairs that led to the Control Room set atop the terrace parallel to the Stargate.

As they entered the automatic door leading to a long gloomy corridor, Raven noticed that Beast Boy was carrying something somewhat odd for the trip: a guitar case. Beast Boy must have noticed her glancing at it as he grinned and said, "Yeah, I'm a rock star baby."

Raven sighed, "Out of all the things you could have brought, you bring a guitar."

"Hey, I thought I might as well learn." Beast Boy said defensively. "I figure we'll have a lot of time on our hands here."

"Did you bring any sheet music?" She asked.

Beast Boy shook his head, "Na, I'm going to try to do it all by ear. I do have the facilities for that after all." He winked before pointing towards his elf ears.

Raven was about to respond when something strange came upon her that forced her to stop in mid-stride. A strong feeling was overtaking her mind; a mind that was supposed to be kept in check for the most part. When an image of pummeling her father with the darkest spell she could muster filled her it, she realized what the feeling was: aggressiveness, a combination of anger and anticipation. She wondered where these two emotions came from. Being quite good at mindfulness, she did not notice any thoughts creeping into her head even relating to Trigon beforehand.

She watched as Beast Boy turned about to face her, aware of the fact that she was no longer walking besides him. She hoped he would wait another second before asking her what was wrong so she could cleanse her mind in time. Unfortunately, this wish was shattered when the elf asked, "Raven? Everything alright?"

"I'm fine," She replied with gritted teeth. "Just give me a second."

Beast Boy took a step closer to her, his eyes full of contemplation. Raven did not want to admit to his friend that she was experiencing uncontrollable emotions. Remembering the last time that happened, she did not want to set off any alarm bells. Fortunately, this event did not seem to be trigger her powers. Still, she was glad she remembered to bring her mirror just in case.

Right when she was sure Beast Boy was about to pry for information, she began to feel relaxed again. It was as if a bucket of water was poured onto the fire that was her rage. This immediately squelched it. She sighed in relief; this did not appear to be another episode of lost self control that would need a journey into her mind to fix. Those episodes of emotion lasted a lot longer and required quite a bit more concentration to quiet. This one seemed to dissipate on its own.

"What was that all about?" Beast Boy asked.

"I'm not sure." Raven admitted, her voice passive and monotone once again. "It was… it was like an emotion came out of nowhere."

"Huh? Any idea what caused it?"

She shook her head, "I'm not sure. Emotions that powerful are usually triggered by an event or memory. This literally came out of nowhere." She stated, wondering if Beast Boy had the education to know she was lying. She knew of plenty of mental illnesses that could trigger a sudden an unexpected change of emotion out of thin air: Bi-Polar disorder was one of them. She shuddered to think of what could happen if she, the sorcerer who's power required the precision control of feeling to properly manipulate, was afflicted by such an illness.

"Oh…" He said. She had the feeling that he was thinking the same thing she was earlier. She hoped she would not have to take another trip into her mind, either. "Well, let's get going. My hands are kind of getting tired from carrying all this crap." He added with a small smile before continuing along.

"Right." She said, catching up to his side. They continued down a bit down the long blue and gray corridor. All the way, Raven's thoughts wondered to the incident a few minutes ago. Beast Boy seemed to be thinking about it as well, for she caught him looking at her curiously a few times as they trotted.

As her thoughts of the incident started to subside, she began taking in her surroundings a bit more. The corridor was dim, with a blue floor and gray walls. It was half-heartedly lit by columns of thin, nearly darkened lights on the walls that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. She guessed either the aliens who formally dwelled here were sensitive to light or the power was still off. Raven mused that she would not mind if the former was true, as she was used to a lack of illumination. This thought brought back memories of her old gloomy room a galaxy away in Titans Tower that nobody but she could find taste in. She hoped the smelting spell she performed on the door would keep the Titans East out of it.

As they walked past door after door, she began to wonder what all the rooms nearby were used for if they were not fit for storage. Were they all filled with wonders of alien technology that any Einstein on Earth would do anything to study? After a bit, they finally came upon their destination: a door marked with a large red X. Naturally, the sign had her mind racing to the past once again. She wondered what the many villains the Titans had managed to 'antagonize' or be antagonized by were up to. She pictured a bored Slade sitting in his lair, tapping into every source he could to find out where his adversaries were, as well as his prized obsession. At least he wouldn't be able to follow them here. She began wishing that this expedition had taken place over a year ago. Perhaps the end of the world could have been prevented if she wasn't on Earth to open the portal.

"Looks like this is it." Beast Boy announced before turning right. The automatic doors wooshed open for him. Raven followed briefly after. It appeared they were some of the first there. The only things already inside were a few supply crates lazily stacked on top another with a few duffle bags laying at their bases. Raven duffle bag soon joined them along with Beast Boy's own duffle bag and guitar. "Damn, I really wish we were allowed more stuff, I'm itching for some 360 right about now."

Raven glanced his way incredulously, "Do you really think there's going to be a television here compatible with your X-Box?"

"Actually, Colonel Sheppard told me that they're bringing one!" Beast Boy announced with a grin. "Still, I'm kind of glad I brought the guitar."

Raven through him an astonished glance before stating, "That's unusually productive for you."

"Thanks…" Beast Boy said, slightly put down. "What did you bring?"

"Oh, just a few books and some other personal objects." She stated, carefully avoiding revealing the presence of her magic mirror. Almost as soon as she was done speaking, the lights flickered off for a brief second before beaming on with an intensity that had not be seen in the city for years. The power was back on in full.

"Awesome! Looks like they got those Naqa.. Naquad-," He paused, "The generator's hooked up."

"Naquadah generators." Raven corrected him, having plenty knowledge of the technology used by the expedition after the numerous briefings she had to attend. "They're very powerful. I think each one can produce enough energy to power Manhattan for a year. They're clean, too. No waste."

"Damn!" Beast Boy said in astonishment. "Al-Gore's going to be happy!"

"_This is McKay_." Beast Boy's radio squawked, causing him to hop slightly in surprise. Raven could barely resist cracking a smile at that. "Generator one is now online, or Silver Beauty as we're now calling it apparently." He announced in an agitated tone. Beast Boy sniggered at that. It was obvious who was behind the name. "We should be able to power the Stargate now if needed."

"Good." Dr. Weir's voice responded. "The next priority is scouting the immediate vicinity of the central tower. If you find anything that looks like quarters, please announce it so. I'd like everyone to choose a room when essential activities are completed."

_Essential Activities._ Raven thought. _Like I have anything to do here. _She became vexed at this thought. She was all set to go but never once thought of what she'd do when she got here besides looking for the reason her mother had called for her. Now, with no possible leads to the reason for that, she wondered if there was anything productive she could spend her time doing. Perhaps she could learn a little bit more about medicine from Dr. Beckett. While she was fairly adept at magical healing, she wasn't certain she knew enough about the human body to try anything complicated such as organ healing."

"So uh…" Beast Boy said, "Getting any vibes to where your mom could be?"

Raven shook her head. "Unfortunately, no; she hasn't tried to reach me since that one night. I still have that feeling though… that this is where I need to be."

"It's weird though… you know why." He said in a slightly shy tone.

"Go ahead and speak your mind." She offered, already knowing what he was about to say.

Beast Boy sighed, "I don't get how anyone from Azarath survived. Wasn't the place toast?"

"I'm not really sure what I saw when I went back there." She admitted. "I know whoever I spoke to there was not my mother. It was most likely an illusion produced by my father. Either way, even if my father did manage to gain complete control of the dimension, I don't believe they were taken out that easily. Many of my people originally came from Earth through a rift between our dimension and Azarath hundreds of years ago." Raven explained. "I think they might have tried to evacuate back home."

"Huh? But how would they be able to create one of those rifts? I thought you were the only one with uh… magic who lived there"

"My mother learned about as much as I know from the soul of Azar, the one who originally led people from Earth to Azarath," Raven continued. "She may have been able to open another rift."

"Alright than… how did they get here?" Beast Boy continued to pry. Raven was now certain he was trying to justify his reason for coming here.

"Creating a rift from scratch requires a tremendous amount of concentration and a great deal of time. I'm betting that when they made the decision to run they were already under attack. She most likely had to find a natural or artificial tear in the dimensional barrier that was already there that she could open completely. However, most natural ones tend to appear at random. There's no guarantee that one will be open in the spot of another universe that you need to get to when you need it to be open. Artificial and natural ones created by certain objects such as black holes tend to be open at all times. If you can manage to spot one in the target universe you can use it to go to or near the spot it's located at any time you need to."

"I see... wait, you said artificial, right? Think there's some crazy alien gizmo here that's creating such a deep well in the local space-time continuum that it's actually creating a bridge into the membrane divides our universe from another? Do you think they used it to come to this place?" Beast Boy asked.

Raven's jaw nearly dropped at that. "That's probably the smartest thing I've ever heard you say." She was puzzled by how Beast Boy knew Azarath wasn't an entirely separate universe, but actually a realm located in the dividing line between the universe they were currently in and another.

Beast Boy grinned, "Thank you Star Trek The Next Generation marathon on Spike and Half Life!"

"Figures…" She groaned. Beast Boy frowned "Anyway, yes, that's my theory and yes, I know it sounds farfetched."

"Heh, well compared to meeting talking dogs from outer space and me convincing Cyborg to eat a whole tofu waffle, that's not that bad." He said.

A hint of a smile formed on Raven's face. She was glad Beast Boy seemed to in on the adventure a little more. She had been catching worried and accusatory glances from her friends since they decided to leave their home. This had been going for such a long while that she was beginning to doubt even her own gut.

Beast Boy's radio crackled again and Raven immediately hoped Dr. Weir was on the other end ready to announce they had found crew quarters. She could already see a purple and green horizon out of the only window in the room. After the incident early, meditation in a silent and dark room followed by sleep sounded very appealing to her.

It was then a voice emanated in her own mind as a feeling of pure joy overcame her, once again out of nowhere. "_Gotta take what I can get while there's still time. Sorry." _She stood there, shocked, as if time had frozen for a second. The voice sounded like Starfire's. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a white, shining wisp like entity hover past the door in the hall. Beast Boy turned towards the door, obviously noticing it as well. This had all taken place in under a second.

"_This is Sheppard." _A slightly perturbed voice announced through the radio at nearly the same time this was all happening. "_I need Major Sumner, Dr. Weir, and Robin to meet me in the control room with me asap. There is something you need to see. Everyone else, carry on with your business."_

"Holy shit, it's Navi!" Beast Boy yelled around the middle of the announcement. They barely heard the tail end of it as they dashed out into the hall to investigate what they had seen. They saw the wisp one more time before it turned down a far away corner at high speeds. The two of them sped after it. "_Catch me if you cannn."_ Starfire's voice taunted. Raven could barely contain her joy as she and Beast Boy sped down the now well-lit corridor.

On the midlevel of a tower next to the main, Sheppard released the button to his radio while holding his P90. The attached flashlight illuminated a series of corpses. They were in partial decay and decked out in gray military uniforms. Sheppard noted that these had large cuts places that revealed deep wounds that looked like they had been produced a sword or some sort of large melee weapon. He shined his light on them for one more second before exiting the room to meet with the others.


	7. Bain: Part 1

Robin stood in the control room to the gate. Surrounding him were Major Sheppard, Colonel Sumner, Dr. Weir, and a Scottish doctor with last name of Beckett, all with stone cold faces. A few civilians and military personnel were busy moving the last of the supplies from the foot of the gate.

"Corpses?" Robin asked, stunned. "What did they look like?"

"They were human." Shephard said bluntly. "They were wearing some weird gray uniforms I've never seen before."

"What?" Robin asked. "How are there humans in another galaxy?"

"The same way there are humans on other planets in the Milky Way. Aliens put them there." Shephard said without a hint of sarcasm though with a bit of a smirk.

"It's the only logical thing I can think of." Dr. Weir stated. "There must be whole civilizations of humans out there. One of them must have sent an expedition here."

"From the looks of it, I'd say they arrived only a year or so ago." Shephard said.

"So how'd they bite it, then?" Colonel Sumner asked.

Shephard turned to him and said, "From the looks of it, I'd say they were cut open by a knife or maybe even a sword. It didn't look like an animal did it. No bite marks or… other signs of that sort of attack."

"Maybe they were executed for something. Treason or wrong-doing. Their society could be militaristic for all we know."

Raven sped down to the end of the corridor at nearly twenty miles an hour and made a sharp left. Beast Boy was right in front of her in Cheetah form. They barely arrived at the end of the corridor when they saw the Wisp make another sharp right. The two sped after it, Raven barely able to keep up with the fastest animal on Earth. Unfortunately, Raven was barely able to keep flying. The overwhelming feeling of joy was really doing a number on the control she had over her powers. She wanted to grab the thing with a web of dark energy but found she didn't have the concentration to do it.

"**That's a possibility, Colonel Sumner." Dr. Weir said. **

A sharp right later and Raven realized they were gaining on the thing. She caught a better glimpse at it as they trailed it down a long blue and gray corridor. The creature, or whatever it was, appeared to be a great number of trails of light attached to a central radiant orb. They streamed behind the creature as it sped on with no apparent means of locomotion.

** "I didn't see any type of weapons near them."Sheppard reported. "It could have also have been the natives of this planet for all we know."**

"Stop running! We don't want to hurt you!" Raven yelled.

_"But this is just too much fun to end now!" _Starfire's voice said gleefully.

They made another quick right, sped down another corridor, made another right and than a left only to arrive at the very same corridor they were on earlier. They were heading straight for the gate room. Luckily, they were nearer to the creature than ever, about ten feet. Raven contemplated using her radio to warn the others but quickly threw the thought away: they were moving too quickly, by the time she radioed in it would be too late. She hoped that the door to the gateroom wouldn't open for the thing and that it'd be trapped.

** "Either way, I'd like to stop searching the city immediately to be on the safe side." Dr. Weir said. **

Her dreams were dashed when the doors swung open. Raven could faintly hear cries of "What the Hell?" and "What is that?" before she entered the room herself. Beast Boy entered right before she did onto the control terrace. The creature was barely eight feet in front of them now as it flew straight off the balcony, now about twenty feet in the air.

_"Catch you later." _Starfire's voice said as the creature broke the stain glass window overlooking the Stargate without even touching it. Shards of multi-colored glass rained down to the floor. It then sped downwards. Raven stopped for a second, chanted, and soon encased herself with a swirling vortex of dark energy. A second later, she was outside the broken window, the energy dissipated. She spotted the creature below her, moving downwards along the edge of the skyscraper. She guessed she must have been thousands of feet in the air: on top of the world. Unfortunately, she was still feeling a surge of positive emotions, which were effecting her concentration somewhat. She was lucky to have been able to make the first teleport.

_"Daw, didn't think you could do that." _Starfire's voice teased.

"Are you the one doing this?" She yelled, not even bothering to pursue the wisp. "Stop toying with me!"

The wisp stopped. It's blue trails of light now hovered about the central orb._"Stop following me and maybe you'll get your wish, though I can't say that the feeling will disappear entirely for a now" _

"You have _no_ right to be doing what you're doing!"

_"I promise that this won't last long." _The voice said. "_I don't understand why you don't LIKE the feeling though."_

"It's not that I don't _like_ it, it's just that it's really messing with my powers!"

_"Trust me; it won't be so bad once I'm far away. As I've said, we are linked… so you'll it slightly."_

"Linked?" She asked. With those words, Beast Boy in pterodactyl form with Robin and Sheppard (holding a P90 machine gun) riding atop of him flew out of the tower. The long-extinct dinosaur looked about for a second before spotting its prey.

"Raven!" Robin yelled. "What the Hell is that thing?"

"Hold on… we're uh… talking!" She yelled at them before turning towards the Wisp once more. "Why do we need to be linked?"

"_It's a really… really long story." _The voice said.

"I have time."

"_Fine… well, where should I start?_ _Over a hundred years ago a 'ship', as you call it, crashed onto our world. It carried a single occupant: a creature much like yourselves only much different. It possessed overwhelming telekinetic powers that we had no chance of fighting. The abomination lurks on the other side of the planet, and it's been sucking the life out of our people."_

"Are you speaking metaphorically?" Raven asked, quite puzzled to what the creature could have meant.

"_No, I'm serious. It can suck the life out of us with its freaking hands. I have no idea how, but it's been poisoning our people emotionally."_

"Emotionally?"

"_We uh… all share a link to one another. We share each other's thoughts and emotions… kind of. It 's really hard to explain. This must uh.. be pretty weird to you, huh?"_

"Sort of." Raven admitted. "So you want to bring them some relief, huh? How come you just don't influence the emotions of your people around you to feel happy like you're doing with me?"

"_So many questions… not sure on that. However, it works with humans for some reason... or things like humans."_

"Raven? What's going on?" Robin asked impatiently.

"Hold on, I'm just about done talking with it." She yelled. "You've seen us before?"

"_Yep, they are the ones who flew that city we were playing around in here."_

"I see… what happened to them?" She asked, trying to not sound accusatory.

"_I'm not sure. When the city landed a few of us went into explore it. There were four of them. I learned how to influence emotion by practicing with them. I don't think they ever realized it was me. I left them for a day and came back to find three of them dead."_

"What did it say, Raven?" Sheppard asked.

"It doesn't know what killed the humans that flew the city here. It said there was four here initially, however."

"_Think they'd mind if I link with them so they can hear me?" Starfire's voice asked._

"The Wisp wants to talk with you guys. You may start feeling… happy." Raven said, feeling slightly strange in having said that.

"What?" Sheppard pondered. "This is really weird…"

"Trust me, it won't be that bad."

"Fine, I'm game." Robin said.

"… Sure, whatever." Sheppard said. "Can we uh.. take this conversation indoors, though?"

"_Sure thing." _Starfire's voice echoed to all of them.

"Wow." Sheppard and Robin said in unison.

"Why does its voice sound like Starfire's?" Robin asked. He didn't receive a reply.

Raven and the Wisp soon followed the pterodactyl that was Beast Boy back into the tower. They flew over the Stargate and landed before a group of Marines, Sumner, Dr. Weir, and Dr. Beckett. Sheppard and Robin disembarked the ancient green beast before it morphed back into Beast Boy. The Wisp and Raven soon joined the group. The soldiers were quick to raise their weapons at the entity.

"Don't shoot at it." Raven said with a slight smile. "It's not going to try anything."

"Fine; at ease, boys." Sumner ordered. The marines complied.

"_Can I link with all of them?" _Starfire's voice asked.

Everyone gave his or her OKs. Soon after, the creature repeated what it had already told Raven.

"Why do I feel happy all of a sudden?" Beckett asked. "This is bloody strange."

"_It's part of the link." _The voice spoke_. "Anyway, where was I? Oh, right… corpses." _'Starfire' cleared her throat. "_I found three of the four men dead the next day. I think it may have been the fourth guy who did them in."_

"Why do you say that?" Sumner asked, his voice a little perturbed.

"_Is it a normal thing for humans to have multiple voices in their heads? I think the guy might have been crazy."_

"Multiple personality syndrome." Beckett stated.

"_The lights were off when I got back too."_

"The nutjob must have killed them, jacked the ZPMs, and used up most of the reserve power dialing out." Sheppard said. "That's two mysteries solved."

"I'm still curious as to why you're the only one of your people here." Raven said.

"_A lot of others don't necessarily approve of me tampering with the emotions of others."_

"So you're working alone." Beckett stated.

"_Pretty much. I just didn't think you'd mind if you were feeling a little more happy than usual. I just didn't know about your friend's powers." _The creature said, 'turning' towards Raven.

"What's it talking about?" Sumner asked Raven in a slightly accusatory fashion.

"My powers depend on precise emotional control." Raven said. "Too much emotion and bad things can happen."

"What kind of bad things?" Sumner pressed.

"Don't pry, Colonel Sumner." Weir ordered. The old marine shut himself up.

"So, what now?" Robin asked. "What about the creature that's been tormenting you? We could be able to-"

"_No offense, but I doubt you would be able to do anything against that thing." _The creature interrupted. "_The thing is on the other side of the planet. Just stay far away."_

"We could try." Sheppard said.

"_If you want to try to kill it, be my guest. I'm not going to lead you to it, however I don't need that on my mind if you end up biting it."_

"Dude… I think we've got this." Beast Boy spoke up. "If you can read our minds you'd know we've been up against worse."

_"How'd you know I could read your memories?" _The creature asked.

"How'd you learn English?" Beast Boy retorted. Raven was growing more and more impressed with his intelligence lately.

"_Still not going to happen, you can ask one of my other people if you want… Anyway, I was hoping you would stop chasing me so I can get back to the woods." _

"I don't see why not." Dr. Weir said. "I would appreciate if you would ask permission before performing your links, however."

_"That's fine by me. Raven, would you mind linking with me longer?" _Starfire's voice asked with a sympathetic tone. "_For some reason I'm having an easier time conjuring your emotions."_

This disturbed the dark girl somewhat. Why was he able to penetrate her barriers so easily?

"Sure, as long as you promise me that this feeling will be less potent when you're far away."

_"I swear. I just wish you could read __**my**__ thoughts so you'd believe me."_

"Realize that we do have backup options if you're not being truthful." Sumner told it.

"_I know."_

With that, the creature exited via the window and flew towards a distant forest where multiple wisps floated about.

"Nice to be meeting new friends so soon." Dr. Weir said.

"Define friends." Sheppard said.


	8. Bain: Part 2

**Atlantis Meeting Room**

**830 Hours**

Robin entered a very nice looking meeting room the day after the incident with the Wisps. It was a circular with a large red and black table shaped like a stretched, thin octagon with long, parallel sides. The only unpleasant feature of it was a few dead plants placed on four opposite sides of the circle. Robin guessed they must have been dead for thousands of years. He sat down next to Cyborg, who had arrived earlier. Starfire took up the vacant seat on the other side of him. He found himself facing Dr. Weir.

Dr. Weir cleared her throat. "Alright, now that everyone's here we can begin." She spoke. "I'd like some opinions on the matter of investigating our new neighbors further."

"They seem alright from what I hear" Spoke Ford, who was sitting on one of the far ends of the table. "I say it's worth going down to the forest to meet them."

"We could always stand to get on good terms with them." Sheppard added, who was sitting next to Dr. Weir.

"It would be glorious to meet potential new friends!" Starfire chimed in with a smile.

A man identified as Bates, who Robin was told was chief of security gazed towards her before saying, "How do we know these things are friendly? All we have is the word of the first entity we meant. Didn't it do something to screw with your head?" He asked, now facing towards Raven, who was on the opposite end of the table from Ford.

"All it wanted to do was… influence my emotions." Raven droned. "I'm not feeling much of the effect anymore, so that means what that thing was saying was truthful."

"With all due respect, one creature's description of his people does not make them trustworthy just yet. Besides, didn't it enter your head without permission?"

Raven sighed before saying, "I really don't think it had any harm in mind. Though it could read thoughts, I don't think it had enough time to truly figure me out all the way when it started doing what it was doing so it didn't know about my… issues with emotion. I think when we started chasing it couldn't concentrate on reading me any further."

"I think if they wanted to do us any harm they would have done it to us already." Sheppard said before thumbing towards the forest. "They do have a pretty good view of the city. They definitely know we're here."

"That doesn't mean they aren't territorial." Rodney argued from a seat next to Starfire. "If we just go prancing through their woods without any care in the world they may take offense to that."

"Well they certainly didn't care about the city landing atop them." Sheppard said matter of factly.

"That's worth discussing. How do we know that they didn't kill the people who brought the city here for demolishing whatever woods used to be below this city? Who knows how many of them were crushed?"

"Those things could move pretty fast." Beast Boy piped in, sitting next to his buddy Cyborg. Bates gazed towards him curiously. "Dude, if you saw a city falling from the sky wouldn't you get out of there pretty quickly? I mean… this thing couldn't have come down TOO fast without busting when it hit the ground."

Rodney snapped his fingers a few times in rapid succession. "That's a really good point. The city was most likely burning in the atmosphere too while it was coming down. They should have been able to see it long before it touched down… assuming they have some form of eyes."

"The thing told me that it saw that the lights were off the second time it visited this place." Raven spoke up. "I think it has some way of _seeing._"

"I'm not sure about how good they can see," Dr. Beckett spoke up. "But I can tell you that those men were killed by some sort of sword-like weapon. I don't really picture the bloody Wisps carrying around little spears and daggers."

"What if it used its.. uh light tentacles." Beast Boy said. Robin half expected the table to give him a look. "Well… we don't know if those things can cut or anything."

"That actually might be true." Robin spoke up. "However, when it broke the window to the gate room it used some other form attack. It didn't look like it even touched the window. You'd have thought it would have used that… sonic blast or whatever to do those soldiers in."

"Maybe it's not lethal." Sumner spoke up.

"I think this discussion has gone on long enough." Dr. Weir spoke up. "We simply do not have enough evidence to place the blame on the Wisps. Personally, I think it's unlikely but we should keep our minds open to the possibility."

"Speaking of that… I think we should give them a name." Sheppard said with a slight smirk.

"Oooh, I've got one!" Rodney said with a finger in the air. "Forest Lights!"

Crickets chirped.

"Common…" Rodney begged, practically trying to force his idea through."They're lights that live in the forests!"

"How about fireflies?" Ford piped in with a smile.

"We should just call them Wisps!" Beast Boy chimed in. "Like the ones from Warcraft 3!"

At this point, Robin could tell that his empathic companion Raven and Colonel Sumner, who was sitting on the opposite side of Weir from Sheppard were about fed up with the pointless argument. It was only a matter of time before-

"Ginglots!" Starfire shouted gleefully. "They were most featured on my-"

"Enough with the name discussion!" Raven and Sumner spoke at the same time. They both turned towards each other, surprised. Robin could detect a hint of admiration in the old Colonel's eyes.

"I know, how about Vila?" Beckett spoke up again. "It's from Russian mythology."

Sumner rolled his eyes. "Fine, Vila it is."

"It will be a calculated risk to go down and try to enter negotiations." Weir decided. "We will have to go down to the forest eventually to collect food, anyway."

"Oh hell yeah," Rodney said. "Though an alternative would to be to use the Stargate to try to find other worlds where we can find some."

"Either way, I think there are risks involved with both plans." Sumner stated. "I think it would be a good idea to have a team down there to try to contact the… Vila. We should also have a team use the gate to scout out potential Alpha Sites in case we need to evacuate. If those creatures were to launch an attack I don't believe fighting is an option."

"Very well. We'll begin exploration as soon as possible." Dr. Weir said. "Sheppard, I want you to take a team of your choosing through the Stargate to check out potential food sources and Alpha Sites. You're going to be leading SGA-2. Sumner; you, a small team, and I will head down to the woods to try to make contact with the Vila. Once we're done with that job you'll be on gate duty as well. You'll be SGA-1. I want everyone else to continue a cautious exploration of the city. Let's get to it."

With that, everyone exited their seats and left through the automatic doors to the meeting room. Sheppard stood still for a second before calling, "Hey, Robin."

Robin turned towards him as the last of the people around him left. "Yeah?"

"What would you say about joining my team?" Sheppard asked with a straight face.

"Would I be able to stay with all the members of my own?" Robin asked.

Sheppard shook his head with a slight sigh, "No, you wouldn't be able to. I don't want to hog all the people with superpowers."

"I'm sorry, but that's just not something I'm willing to do." Robin said matter of factly before turning towards the door.

Sheppard nodded before saying, "Let me know if you change your mind."

"Of course." The Boy Wonder said before walking out of the conference room and onto the terrace that faced the backside of the Stargate diagonally. He felt slightly sorry for having to turn down Sheppard, who he viewed as a decent man, but he just wasn't ready to split up his team just yet. They were on the edge of the universe, and only he knew best how to guide them. He just didn't trust a military officer he had little to no knowledge about to lead them into a potentially life-threatening situation.

As he walked down towards the Stargate, Robin soon found himself in the presence of Starfire.

"Why are you so tense, Robin?" She asked with a concerned tone.

Robin sighed, "I think that the military is going to try to split us up. Sheppard just asked me to join his team."

"What?" She asked, astounded. "They can't do that without your permission, could they?"

"They can. We're part of their expedition. Though Dr. Weir has the final say on things, if she's pressured by the military she may have to make the call." He said. "Sheppard didn't force me to do anything but I'm willing to bet Sumner's more of a hardass than he is."

"Well, let's just hope for the best." Starfire said, moving closer to him. "Come, how about we head to my quarters and … forget about all of this for now."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "You know… I'm kind of an OCD guy who can't take things off his mind that easily."

Starfire smirked and grabbed him by the arm, "Don't you worry about that."

**Naquada Generator Room 3**

**1230**

"Yo man! Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Cyborg asked Dr. McKay, who was busy trying to hook the agitated android up to a Naquada generator for a recharge.

"Yes!" McKay cried exasperatedly. "For the last time, I've worked with androids before."

"Yeah, but have you worked with a Type 6?" Cyborg asked in a worried tone.

"Trust me; I've worked on far more advanced robots than you." McKay grumbled while plugging one of Cyborg's wires into the generator, "However, this would be a lot easier if you'd just keep quiet so I can concentrate."

"Fine!" Cyborg barked. "_Lousy egotistical know-it-all."_

"There!" McKay announced before typing a few commands into a computer hooked up to the generator. "Just don't touch anything and you'll be fine. I promise you there's no chance of you being fried by this thing."

"Yipee." The android said sarcastically.

The doors flung open to the small room and in marched Colonel Sumner, escorted by Sergeant Banks.

"Am I interrupting anything?" He asked in a stone cold voice.

"No, I was just finishing up." McKay said proudly. "What do you need?"

"Nothing from you. I came to talk with Corporal Stone." He said. Rodney through a look of disappointment his way.

"That's new…" Cyborg said, slightly confused.

"I prefer not to use nicknames for men in my squad."

Cyborg raised his only eyebrow. "Your squad?"

Sumner spoke without even answering his question. "You're equipped with an ion cannon and other built in technologies, am I right?"

"That's right." Cyborg said, shaking his head slowly.

"That's good. I'd like a demonstration." The Colonel continued. "Show me your ion cannon."

Cyborg quickly transformed his arm and Sumner threw him an impressed look.

"I've read your report." He said. "You and your team managed to single-handedly thwart an invasion of over two thousand autonomous androids equipped with military hardware so advanced it was barely on the drawing boards in Area 51, and this was when the Stargate program was in full-swing, too. Many of these droids were armored with titanium yet you still managed to tear through them."

"I just wish that never had happened…" Cyborg said solemnly.

"Neither do I." Sumner said in a withered voicce, lowering his eyebrows. "I lost a good friend when the military launched our counter-attack at the tail-end of the invasion."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Colonel."

Sumner nodded. "I want you to be part of my team, Stone. I think you'll be a great asset."

Cyborg smiled. "Well, I'm flattered, but… will the rest of the Titans be in on this?"

"Just Private Koriand'r." He said. "She's it."

"Hooo boy… I'm not sure if this is such a good idea."

Sumner glared, "This isn't a request."

"Dawg, the Titans work best as a single unit!" Cyborg argued, his voice growing slightly louder. "We know how to work the best with each other. Split us up and you lose the magic."

"I'm aware of your track record, and as I've said I'm impressed." The Colonel said before taking a step towards Cyborg. "However, you each possess unique gifts that could benefit us quite a bit, and to be honest I'm not sure I could trust you to handle off-world operations all on your own. That being said, we can't have all our assets be used to explore planets one at a time. We need to divide ourselves equally and in an effective manner to cover the most ground."

"I see…" Cyborg said. "Let me ask you something though. Are you still going to let us look for Raven's people?"

"As long as you follow orders, I don't see the problem with it." Sumner stated.

"Alright than man, I guess I'm in." Cyborg sighed.

"I'm glad to have your approval," Sumner said sarcastically before turning towards the door. "And that's _sir_, Corporal Stone."

**Cafeteria**

**1730 Hours**

The cafeteria was buzzing with people for the first time in ten thousand years when Robin entered. He saw his four companions sitting amongst themselves on the far end of the large cafeteria past a row of tables packed with people. Robin waved at them with a smile before wandering over to the line at the serving booth. It was long, but the smell of grilled chicken would keep him satisfied until he got his fill.

"Excuse me; is there lemon in this chicken?" He heard McKay ask ahead of him. "I'm deathly allergic to citrus."

"There's no lemon in the chicken, Rodney." Grodin, who was helping with the cafeteria, answered in an annoyed British accent.

Rodney sighed in relief, "Oh, thank god. I've been starving since three!"

A few minutes later and Robin was given a meal of mashed potatoes with gravy, chicken, and corn on the cob. It looked pretty decent for what he expected of military food. Robin walked over to his tables, averting the eyes of the expedition members who seemed to be glancing at him every so often. He wondered if his unique fashion sense might have had something to do with it.

He took a seat next to Cyborg on the far end of the cafeteria, opposite of the door. The table was propped up against a wall-wide window wish offered a nice view of the city and the forests, which were now specked with the vibrant lights of wondering Vila. He wondered about what the things could have been doing down there. Were they hunting for food or just hanging out?

"Yo, Robin!" Cyborg turned to him. "You know we're being split up, right?"

Robin was only slightly surprised be this. He had been dreading Sumner's inevitable involvement in the matter all day. He knew it was only a matter of time before the old marine attempted to reel his team in for his own purposes. He knew the military didn't really care about the Titan's goals. They were just a tool to them to be used in the 'defense of humanity' or whatever. Still, Robin did not mind the whole thing too much. Half the reason he wanted in on the expedition was to serve a greater good than just his own city.

He knew about the Goauld and the threat they posed in the Milky Way. They were cliché, egotistical conquerors straight out of Hell. Despite the fact that they would obviously have the technology to build ships and other pieces of equipment with other machines, they were so wretched that they gained a high from seeing their slaves do all their manual labor. They were powerful too; Earth barely managed to hold back one of their orbital attacks, and this was only with the help of a last minute Deus Ex Machima.

In order to combat them, Robin had been told that they were going to travel to another galaxy to Atlantis. SG-1, General O'Neil's original team, was looking for over a year this city. They hoped that it would harbor advanced technology that could be used to defend Earth. Robin was a little disappointed that all they managed to find so far was a race of fairies, unfortunately.

"No, this is the first time I've heard about it." Robin answered back with a frown. "I was hoping Sumner would come to me before doing something like this."

"How did you know it was Sumner?" Cyborg asked.

"He's the only guy besides Sheppard who's looking for team members as far as I know. He actually gave me the choice of yes or no when he asked me to join his own unit. I figured he'd give you one too." Robin explained.

Cyborg nodded, "Yeah, Sumner didn't give me much of a choice. Brought up the whole 'it's a military expedition' and put me in his squad."

Starfire shot Robin a guilty smile, as if she was holding something back.

"What is it Starfire?" Robin asked her promptly.

She sighed, "I too was placed in Sumner's team."

"What?" Robin barked angrily. He quickly calmed himself when he realized half the cafeteria had heard his remark and were glancing at him.

"I knew you would not be happy about this…" She said. "I'll be fine on my own. Do not trouble yourself with my safety."

Robin sighed, "It's just… weird."

"Very." Raven stated with her monotone voice. "I believe the only option for the three of us is to join up with Sheppard's team. It would be better than sitting around waiting for them to give us something to do. At least Sheppard's team we know is going to be active."

"I hear Stackhouse is forming a third team." Beast Boy chimed in.

Robin pondered this for a second before saying, "I'm not sure I trust Stackhouse enough yet to be under his command. Sheppard, however, seems like a good person. I don't trust him completely, but I'd rather go with him. What do you think about Sumner, Cyborg?"

"I dunno dawg… I haven't been able to read him that much." The tinman explained. "He seems like your regular by-the-books badass marine to me. Get this though, I think he might have been involved in the military counter-attack against Slade during that incident with-" He paused for a second, Robin guessed he didn't want to bring up the name 'Terra' around Beast Boy."Er, during that incident a few years back."

"No way!" Beast Boy yelled. "Oh my god! That makes sense. I _knew _I saw him before."

"You saw him?" Robin asked.

"Yeah dude! I saw him giving orders during the cleanup!"

Raven cracked a bit of a smile, "Small world."

"Well, at least we've had ties with him somewhat." Robin said. "Hopefully, this will all work out for the best. It's not like we're going to be permanently separated or anything."

A few tables away, Rodney and Dr. Beckett sat together. Rodney was busy picking at his chicken with his fork while Beckett slurped down the last of his mineral water.

"Why do you think they sit all alone." Dr. Beckett said in a sympathetic tone.

"Maybe they know we think they're freaks." Rodney joked with a grin before shoveling a wad of poultry into his mouth.

Beckett rolled his eyes, "That's not even funny Rodney."

"Well, they are kind of weird. You can't say that." He said matter of factly.

"And _you're _not?" Beckett argued.

Rodney chuckled. "Hey, I'm not the one covered with metal or wearing a pair of tights."

"Christ, Rodney…" Beckett groaned. "You know, I've read up on them. They've done _so_ much for their home city and yet the media constantly blasts them. They're worse on them than the Justice League. I don't even think the civilian populace of their city supports them; I remember reading a poll that said that over one-third of the people believed the Titans were responsible for the villains in their city!"

"Well, maybe they are." Rodney argued while chewing up his meat. "I mean, if I were some nutty, egotistical supervillian I'd know who I'd like to test my skills again."

Beckett chuckled with a smirk, "I wonder why you find it so easy to empathize."

"Not funny." Rodney grumbled.

"The point is that they've done so much for that city and all they get is-"

"A huge tower complete with more modern comforts than I have!" The Canadian scientist interjected. "-And I'm the one who helps save the planet every once and a while. The Titans have nothing on me. Don't talk to me about appreciation either, because all I get is my own ego patting me on the back."

"It must pat you a bloody lot." Beckett groaned. "All I'm saying is that people should show them _some _appreciation. I'm sure they could make more money with other careers."

"What, is the green guy going to work at the zoo?" Rodney joked. "Oh… I bet the kid in tights would be good in the circus."

"I bet the girl… uh Raven would be a pretty damned good doctor. You know she can heal wounds with her mind?"

Rodney shook his head, "Nope. If you think she'd be a good doctor why don't you ask her to help you out in the infirmary?"

Beckett blinked. "That's a bloody good idea."


End file.
